Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of fresh food distribution and more particularly relates to providing consumers with information about the distances travelled by fresh foods in stores.
Description of the Prior Art
Consumers are increasingly interested in knowing where their food comes from, and about the sustainability of growing practices. Two outcomes of this changing behavior is the increasing interest in “food miles” and the emergence of what has been colloquially known as “locavorism.” Simply put, food miles are the literal distance in miles that the food has traveled from the farm to the consumer and “locavores” are people who aim to minimize the food miles of what they eat. “Locavorism” is often satisfied by shopping at farmers' markets, but in response to these demands, food retailers and foodservice operators are also keen to demonstrate their local sourcing practices, whenever practical. Oftentimes, this is achieved with a display of produce that is locally sourced.
There is no single definition of “local” in terms of the geographic distance between production and consumption. In 2008 Congress passed H.R.2419, which amended the “Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.” In the amendment “locally” and “regionally” are grouped together and are defined as “(I) the locality or region in which the final product is marketed, so that the total distance that the product is transported is less than 400 miles from the origin of the product; or (II) the State in which the product is produced.”
Satisfying the demand to know whether or not food is locally sourced is challenging for large retailers with wide distribution networks that can span many hundreds of miles. Such retailers want to ensure their labeling is accurate, however, it can be impractical to print ‘local’ signs and position them among the merchandise consistently, when the product is being received from different sources into one or more distribution centers, sometimes on the same day, and being distributed to retail locations over a wide geographic area. Consequently, sometimes a product in a given retail store will come from a source within 400 miles and can be labeled as “local,” and sometimes not, and for many products in that store the “local” status will change frequently.